Mast cell activation after adenosine inhalation challenge in patients with bronchial asthma

Purinergic signaling in the airways

Evidence for a significant role and impact of purinergic signaling in normal and diseased airways is now beyond dispute. The present review intends to provide the current state of knowledge of the involvement of purinergic pathways in the upper and lower airways and lungs, thereby differentiating the involvement of different tissues, such as the epithelial lining, immune cells, airway smooth muscle, vasculature, peripheral and central innervation, and neuroendocrine system. In addition to the vast number of well illustrated functions for purinergic signaling in the healthy respiratory tract, increasing data pointing to enhanced levels of ATP and/or adenosine in airway secretions of patients with airway damage and respiratory diseases corroborates the emerging view that purines act as clinically important mediators resulting in either proinflammatory or protective responses. Purinergic signaling has been implicated in lung injury and in the pathogenesis of a wide range of respiratory disorders and diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammation, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, and pulmonary hypertension. These ostensibly enigmatic actions are based on widely different mechanisms, which are influenced by the cellular microenvironment, but especially the subtypes of purine receptors involved and the activity of distinct members of the ectonucleotidase family, the latter being potential protein targets for therapeutic implementation.

Identification of a functional Antigen5-related allergen in the saliva of a blood feeding insect, the tsetse fly

Our previous screening of a Glossina morsitans morsitans lamdagt11 salivary gland expression library with serum of a tsetse fly exposed rabbit identified a cDNA encoding Tsetse Antigen5 (TAg5, 28.9 kDa), a homologue of Antigen5 sting venom allergens. Recombinant TAg5 was produced in Sf9 cells in order to assess its immunogenic properties in humans. Plasma from a patient that previously exhibited anaphylactic reactions against tsetse fly bites contained circulating anti-TAg5 and anti-saliva IgEs. In a significant proportion of plasma samples of African individuals, TAg5 and saliva binding IgEs (respectively 56 and 65%) can be detected. Saliva, harvested from flies that were subjected to TAg5- specific RNA interference (RNAi), displayed significantly reduced IgE binding potential. Allergenic properties of TAg5 and tsetse fly saliva were further illustrated in immunized mice, using an immediate cutaneous hypersensitivity and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis assay. Collectively, TAg5 was illustrated to be a tsetse fly salivary allergen, demonstrating that Antigen5-related proteins are represented as functional allergens not only in stinging but also in blood feeding insects.

Adenosine receptors and asthma

The pathophysiological processes underlying respiratory diseases like asthma are complex, resulting in an overwhelming choice of potential targets for the novel treatment of this disease. Despite this complexity, asthmatic subjects are uniquely sensitive to a range of substances like adenosine, thought to act indirectly to evoke changes in respiratory mechanics and in the underlying pathology, and thereby to offer novel insights into the pathophysiology of this disease. Adenosine is of particular interest because this substance is produced endogenously by many cells during hypoxia, stress, allergic stimulation, and exercise. Extracellular adenosine can be measured in significant concentrations within the airways; can be shown to activate adenosine receptor (AR) subtypes on lung resident cells and migrating inflammatory cells, thereby altering their function, and could therefore play a significant role in this disease. Many preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies have documented the roles of the various AR subtypes in regulating cell function and how they might have a beneficial impact in disease models. Agonists and antagonists of some of these receptor subtypes have been developed and have progressed to clinical studies in order to evaluate their potential as novel antiasthma drugs. In this chapter, we will highlight the roles of adenosine and AR subtypes in many of the characteristic features of asthma: airway obstruction, inflammation, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and remodeling. We will also discuss the merit of targeting each receptor subtype in the development of novel antiasthma drugs.

Targeting human mast cells expressing g-protein-coupled receptors in allergic diseases

The G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest known group of integral membrane receptor proteins and are the most common targets of pharmacotherapy. Mast cells (MCs) have been reported to play an important role in allergic diseases, such as urticaria and bronchial asthma. There is an increasing body of clinical evidence that MCs are recruited into allergic reactions by non-IgE-dependent mechanisms. Human MCs are activated and secrete histamine in response to neuropeptides, such as substance P and somatostatin, mediated by a GPCR, MRGX2. The microenvironment surrounding MCs in their resident tissues is likely to contain multiple factors that modify antigen-dependent MC activation. MCs express various GPCRs, and since the function of human MCs is modulated by various GPCR ligands, such as adenosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate, which are present in high levels in the bronchial alveolar lavage fluid of asthmatic patients, the GPCRs expressed on MCs may play an important role in human allergic diseases. The GPCRs expressed on MCs may serve as drug targets for the treatment of allergic diseases.